Hospital beauty aid equipment



4151 11529, 1954 M. M. WOLFE a I 4 'v HOSPITAL BEAUTY AID EQUIPMENT 2 SheetsSheet l Filed f Jan. 10, 1950 huuuuHw Jhn; 1954 M. M. WQLFE 2,682,058

HOSPITAL BEAUTY AID EQUIPMENT Filed Jan. 10, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented June 29, 1954 UNITED STATEd i ATENT OFFICE 5 Claims.

This invention relates to hospital equipment and has more particular reference to beauty aid equipment especially adapted for serving bedconfined patents in hospitals and the like.

Heretofore there has been no satisfactory equipment, so far as I am aware, convenient for use in washing or shampooing the hair, or giving hair treatments or facial treatments while the patent is confined in a bed and particularly when the circumstances make it difiilcult or impossible for the patient to sit up or to be moved to some remote position while giving these treatments. My invention contemplates, therefore, novel equipment which I term a hospital beauty aid equipment, whereby practically all treatments used in beauty parlors may be easily and con veniently applied to a patient so confined. My invention aims to provide a Wheeled cabinet which may be easily moved from room to room and positioned alongside a bed, the cabinet to contain equipment, materials, and supplies needed for the many cleansing and beauty treatments, and the cabinet being provided with equipment designed for use in a distinctly novel manner for hair washing, shampooing and other treatments. My invention further contemplates as an object a novel form and construction of a cabinet of the character described whereby the cabinet may be positioned close to the bed and the operator may stand close to the patient and within easy reach of all necessary supplies and equipment while performing the described operations.

More particularly, one of the objects of my invention is to provide an improved beauty equipment cabinet which may be positioned close to one side of a bed and an improved shampoo equipment preferably attached to the cabinet and extending transversely across the bed and provided with a water drain compartment and a head or neck rest for the patient. These improvements are so constructed and arranged that with the patient in a normal horizontal position in the bed the head will be conveniently positioned over the water drain compartment andwhile the patient is in this position the operator may quickly and easily go through the vari ous manipulations in washing, shampooing, drying, and treating of the hair and scalp, or in giving facials or other beauty treatments.

Another object of my invention is to provide a novel equipment of the character described which will serve in an efiicient and practical manner the purposes intended and which is adapted for manufacture at a reasonable cost.

Another object in furtherance of the invention above described, is the provision of a portable cabinet carrying a Water supply and a drain receptacle, compartments for the various materials, supplies, and implements used in these beauty operations, a work top at the side of the cabinet adjacent'to the bed, and operator area adjacent to the bed and at the junction between the work top and said front side of the cabinet, and a shampoo drawer or the equivalent at substantially the same level as the work top and extending therefrom transversely across the bed for supporting the patients head as above described, the entire assembly being in such cooperative arrangement that the operator while standing in said area may reach the necessary materials and supplies in the cabinet or use them directly from the work top. Thus, by reason of the novel relationship between the shampoo equipment, the cabinet, the work top, and the operator area, the patient is comfortably positioned in the bed and the operator may proceed without unnecessary movements or delays in performing the various manipulations desired for the many hygenic and beauty treatments. In this respect the invention is particularly advantageous because the usually difiicult and sometimes impossible (under circumstances of bedridden patients) treatments of thoroughly washing, shampooing, rinsing, and drying of the hair, may be conveniently performed with the use of my invention.

Other objects and attendant advantages will be appreciated by those skilled in this art as the invention becomes better understood by reference to the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of a hospital beauty aid equipment embodying my invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of said equipment positioned in operative relation to a bed, with a shampoo drawer or compartment extended and supported in the operative position over the bed;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary elevation looking at the side of the equipment opposite from that shown in Figure 2, and indicating the patients head supported on the shampoo drawer;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary plan view of the equipment substantially as shown in Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is an enlarged cross-section taken substantially on the section line 55 of Figure 4.

In the drawings I have shown for purpose of illustration a preferred embodiment of my invention. The abovementioned cabinet is desighated generally by l I. This cabinet is preferably wheel supported so that it may be easily pushed and positioned by the attendant or operator. It should be of a size to accommodate the various materials, supplies and equipment contemplated by my invention so that it is in effect a completely equipped beauty parlor; at least, it should carry all the supplies and equipment essential for the intended cleansing and beauty treatments, including a water supply and drainage capacity. The cabinet should be of a size to permit passage through the ordinary doorway and to and from elevators. A convenient handle [2 is provided for maneuvering the cabinet; and any suit able braking device (not shown) may be provided for locking one or more of the wheels to hold the cabinet in the working position. The main body of the cabinet is preferably rectangular in shape and has what I term a front side [3 and an operator side [4. In the preferred embodiment the main cabinet is provided with a cabinet extension designated generally by which is substantially narrower than the operator side I4 and which with said operator side defines an operator area 16. In this embodiment the cabinet extension houses a movable shampoo compartment designated generally by H. This shampoo compartment may be suitably supported in the cabinet in the housed position, as for example, in the fashion of a drawer as on ways l8 (Figure 3) so that it may be pulled out to an extended operative position overreaching a bed. The shampoo compartment, preferably elongated and extending substantially across the top of a bed, is shaped to provide at the side adjacent to the operator area a head or neck rest [9 and an open top drain compartment 2|. The rest l9 may be of suitable form such as concave and provided with a soft rubber or sponge rubber neck rest pad 22. The walls of the shampoo and drain compartment are so spaced as to provide for ample space or clearance for the head and hair and for access of the operators hands all around the head and particularly beneath the head as will be evident from Figures 3, 4, and 5. The bottom drain wall 23 slopes down to a low drain point 24 (Figure 3) at which a hose 25 is connected to the drain compartment. This hose discharges into a drain tank or receptacle 26 which is supported in the cabinet extension l5 and may be removed therefrom through a side opening which is normally closed by a door 21. A suitable splash guard 2829 is provided along the back and outer end of the shampoo compartment to give greater height to this compartment and to prevent splashing of water incident to the washing and rinsing operations. The splash guard, removably held in position by clips 3|, may be stored within the cabinet when not in use. Wooden wedges 32-33 are provided for insertion between the top of the bed and the under side of the shampoo compartment to provide for obtaining the desired level of this compartment and to give good support to the compartment in the operative position. These wedges provide adjusting means for taking care of variables incident to the height of the bed and bed clothes; and my invention contemplates the provision of suitable adjusting means to take care of these variables and to enable firm and stable support of the shampoo compartment in an operative position convenient to the patient. Some hospital beds have provision for raising and lowering the bed level and this means may be utilized also in relative setting of the equipment most convenient to the patient. Obviously the patient may in some circumstances be somewhat inclined, but the normal sleeping posture is preferred because it is least disturbing to the patient and also because with the use of my equipment the drainage from the head and hair is most effective. Water for the washing, shampooing and rinsing operations is supplied from a tank or reservoir 34 (Figure 4) housed in the upper part of the main cabinet, that is, above the work cabinet extension [4, through a suitable hose 35 and nozzle 36. This hose is attached at 31 to the bottom of the tank 34 so that the water discharges by gravity from the nozzle. A suit able gauge 3811 shows the water level in the tank 34. Suitable means such as an electric heater (not shown) may be provided in the main cabinet for heating the water in the tank 34. Also, more than one tank, or tank compartments may be provided for hot and cold water. The main cabinet above the extension I5 is provided with a compartment 38 having shelves 39 for towels, this compartment preferably being open at the operator side for quick access. Below this towel compartment is provided drawers 4| and 42 opening through the front side [3, the upper drawer being designed for shampoo bottles and other supplies and the lower drawer for facial and manicure tools and supplies. Below this the forwardly opening doors 4344 are for compartment space suitable for a portable electric hair drier and other equipment. A directional light 45 on the operator side of the main cabinet provides illumination for the operator at work.

One of the features of my invention is the general combination of parts and their relationship to a bed, particularly a hospital bed 46. It will be observed from Figures 2, 3, 4, and 5, that the parts are designed to bear a definite relationship to the bed 46. From Figure 2 it will be noted that the cabinet extension I5 is of a height just sufficient to carry the shampoo compartment IT in operative position over a standard height hospita1 bed and to permit sliding or displacement of the shampoo compartment to a concealed position within this cabinet extension or to an out of the way position. Also it will be noted that in the present embodiment the cabinet extension |5 is substantially the same length as the shampoo compartment. It will be further noted that the top surface 41 of the cabinet extension provides a work top and that this cabinet extension together with the main cabinet provides an operator area or station I6, as above mentioned. It will be further noted that these parts bear a definite relationship to the head or neck rest I9 and the shampoo compartment so that a patient in a normal lying posture in the bed will be conveniently supported with the head in the shampoo compartment. Thus, the operator station provides a novel and efficient relationship to the patient and to the abovementioned parts whereby without moving from this station the operator has all the equipment, materials and supplies at hand for washing, shampooing, rinsing, and drying, and does not have to go out of the way in performing the work. The same applies to other beauty treatments, facials, manicuring, and the like. If desired, a swing-in chair or stool (not shown) may be provided in the operator area portion of the cabinet for use where the work does not require standing.

My invention also contemplates that equiva lent means may be provided for supporting the shampoo compartment when in the operative working position as well as in the non-working position. For example, the shampoo compart- I ing from the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims, in which I claim:

1. Hospital beauty aid equipment adapted for use in the treatment of patients confined in bed and including such treatment as washing the hair of a person lying in the bed, said equipment comprising a wheeled cabinet structure providing a main cabinet body having an enclosure for supporting various materials, supplies and equipment adapted for cleansing and beauty treatments, the main cabinet body having a front side and an operator side adjacent thereto, a cabinet body extension supported on said operator side of the main cabinet body providing an enclosure extending laterally from said op erator side, said cabinet being movable on its wheeled support to a position along the side of the bed with said front side of the main cabinet body parallel with the adjacent side of the bed, a shampoo compartment normally supported within said cabinet body extension and being movable to an extended position overlying the the shampoo compartment having a head receptacle and a water drain portion therebelow and also having a neck rest for supporting the head of a person lying in the bed with the head positioned over the drain portion of the compartment, and said shampoo compartment being movableas a unit with respect to the cabinet structure back and forth between said extended position and said position within the cabinet body extension.

2. Hospital beauty aid equipment as set forth in claim 1, in which the cabinet body extension is arranged adjacent to and parallel with the rear side of the main cabinet body as distinguished from the described front side thereof and is of such width and shape as to provide an operator area at said operator side whereby an operator may stand in said area close to the juncture between the bed and the overlying cabinet body guished from the described front side thereof and is of such width and shape as to provide an operator area at said operator side whereby an operator may stand in area close to the juncture between the bed and the overlying cabinet body extension, and a work top covering the top of the cabinet body extension provid ing a fiat working top coextensive therewith, the shampoo compartment being movable to said position within the cabinet body extension directly beneath the work top.

Hospital beauty aid equipment adapted for use in the treatment of patients confined in bed and including such treatment as washing the hair of a person lying in the bed, said equipment comprising a wheeled cabinet structure providing a main cabinet body having an enclosure for supporting various materials, supplies and equipment adapted for cleansing and beauty treatments, the main cabinet body of rectangular cross-section horizontally, the cabinet having a front side adapted to be located by movement of the cabinet on its wheeled support substantially parallel with one side of the bed and remote therefrom to allow an intermediate space area for an operator standing between the bed and the front of the cabinet, the cabinet having a body extension on said front side extending substantially to the bed, a shampoo compartment normally supported within said cabinet body extension and being movable to an extended position overlying the bed, the shampoo compartment having a head receptacle and a water drain portion therebelow and also having a neck rest for supporting the head of a person lying in the bed with the head positioned over the drain portion of the compartment, and said shampoo compartment being movable as a unit with respect to the cabinet back and forth between said extended position and said position within the cabinet body extension.

5. Hospital beauty aid equipment as set forth in claim 4, in which the shampoo compartment is in the form of a drawer mounted to slide on said cabinet body extension back and forth between the described positions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

